Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Well-Being and Spirituality

Handy Woman went to see the Dalai Lama, and I asked her how
it was. She said he sounds like Grover the Muppet and is very funny but
basically said what you’d expect him to say. What she thought was interesting
was what the scientist studying meditation had to say. He says that well-being
has four components that have been studied and proven neurologically:

Resilience – how long it takes you to bounce back from
adversity

Positive outlook

Attention – this is the part that meditation helps with

Generosity

So, gentle readers, I suppose we should all strive to be
more resilient, positive, attentive, and generous. Haven’t we heard this
message before? We are told to look for something wonderful about every day and
be “in the moment,” which takes care of the middle two. Resilience is always a
good idea, and of course generosity is emphasized right now during this
almsgiving season of Lent. I am apparently more generous than I’d realized,
judging by all the letters I’ve been getting this tax season that say, “Thank
you for your generous donation!” Half the time I don’t remember giving to the
charity at all, and sometimes I’ve given way more than I’d remembered. Oops! So
maybe I need to focus most on the first one, but how do you measure something
like that? It seems to me that growing in the spiritual life should help with
all four of these, because a spiritually mature person would be resilient (not
concerning herself with the things of this world), focused on the good God does
in her life, and of course attentive to the spiritual things, as well as
generous. In this matter, Buddhism and Christianity can certainly agree!

About Me

I am a third-hand gift, a straw hat with a wide brim. I used to have natural and navy stripes, but after much time in the sun, the navy ones have faded to a sort of chocolatey tone. The big blue flower around the brim was my wearer's own touch.